Reasons Your Users Are Uninstalling Your App

September 28, 2016

5 min read

Are your users uninstalling your app? Have you ever thought that maybe you’re sending out too many notifications, your in-app messages are too distracting, you’re invading privacy without asking, or maybe your design is a bit too complicated? These are some of the questions you should be asking yourself as you analyze app performance.

A study showed how 79 percent of users will give apps a second chance after it failed to impress them the first time around, however that number drops significantly to just 16 percent for those who will give an app a third try.

So to help keep your app from failing the second and third time, let’s take a look at a few common reasons that could be triggering these uninstalls, and tips to solve them.

Sending Out Too Many Notifications

Notifications are one of the best marketing strategies you can use to lure your users back into your app. However, this must be done tactically because they can either make or break your user experience. You don’t want to go overboard by nagging your customers to get their attention. You also don’t want to invade in your user’s privacy, especially if you haven’t even asked their permission to do so, but more on this later.

So what do you do? Be considerate and give them the option to opt in or out of receiving notifications during the onboarding stage. Try running a/b experiments on timing and messaging techniques. Do you send them in the day? Night? Midday? How many times, once or twice? Try gathering enough information about your users when they sign up so that you can gather enough data to make the right decisions.

Every app is different, so what may work for one app doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for yours as well—that’s why testing is key.

In-App Messages Are Distracting

I’m sure you’ve used that one app that asks you to rate them on a daily basis, or have multiple ads pop up while you’re trying to use it. Annoying, right? Delete.

In-app messages are a great marketing tool (just like push notifications), but abuse them, and you lose your users. Key here is to time them correctly. Feedback is important to help improve your app, but make sure that you have an effective system in place that will make users want to give you 5-stars. Always put yourself in your their shoes when you’re planning your messages.

Privacy Invasion

Privacy is a major concern for many users who install apps that ask various questions to gather their information without telling them the reason behind it. For instance, a user may download an app that asks for their birthday, location and their interests, but doesn’t specify what the app will use that information for.

The best approach to avoid suspicion and deletion of your app is to keep the questions to a minimum. Only ask what’s needed in order for the app to work. It also never hurts to reassure that the information collected will not be misused, and to link to a page with privacy and data protection laws that users can read and access. A study showed that 80 percent of people are more likely to trust a company that they believe will protect their personal information. As such, it’s better to reassure and be safe, than go with the flow and risk significant user uninstall rates.

Complicated Design

Your apps design also plays a large role in conversions. Poor design, usability and interface can cause users to uninstall your app. Design is important—you have to grab users attention with slick yet simple navigation and interface that’s seamless throughout. And, make sure that you are conscious about placement (buttons and navigation), colors (bright vs. dark), styling and type choices (small font vs. large font, cursive vs. print, etc.).

Conclusion

Looking at your analytics and watching users uninstall your app by the numbers is something that no one enjoys, but it does give you valuable insight on what you may be doing wrong that’s causing this to happen. For some, it can be the issue of sending out too many push notifications or privacy trust issues, while for others it may be an issue with in-app messages or the design of your app. Whatever the cause, you should focus your attention on providing a great user experience, and the only way to improve it, is to test out various strategies. Don’t ever settle, because you can always find ways to improve as long as you never stop experimenting.

Kristina Altman is Head of Content at TestNest. She’s a marketing guru that thrives in a startup environment. After many years of working with smaller businesses, Kristina has learned to wear many hats—she’s a jack of all trades, a swiss army knife. She has a passion for blogging and loves any challenge. You can always connect with her on LinkedIn.